


Lost and Found

by ElectricRaven99



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Harry Styles's Knock-Knock Jokes, How Do I Tag, Kinda, Liam Payne has his shit together, Louis likes to prank people, May add tags as i go, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Niall Horan is a Ray of Irish Sunshine, Niall Horan is the Youngest, Niall Horan-centric, OT5 Fluff (One Direction), OT5 Friendship (One Direction), The X Factor Era, Zayn Malik is a Little Shit, but i don't know where I'm going, but like in a good way he's great, dude we're getting the band back together!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectricRaven99/pseuds/ElectricRaven99
Summary: “So, One Direction and Aiden Grimshaw. One of you has received the least amount of votes tonight, and the other will be moving on,” the female announcer said as she moved the cue cards in her hand.“The act going through to next week is…”The lights on the show dimmed, the screen flicking back and forth between the two groups.“Aiden Grimshaw!” The spotlights shot toward the ecstatic teen who rushed to hug his mentor.Niall threw a pillow at the telly and shouted, “What!?!”aka: Niall missed X-Factor auditions, but One Direction was still formed. Without him.But Niall's still hoping he's got the X-Factor, and the lads may just need a little bit of Irish luck to make it big time. Too bad there's no room for him in the band... and there's one member of One Direction who seems to have it out for him.
Relationships: Niall Horan & Zayn Malik & Liam Payne & Harry Styles & Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 5





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, thanks for checking out my story! Glad my summary didn't scare you away ;)
> 
> Just a fair warning: this does take place during the X-Factor Live Tour, and I've only ever seen one or two full episodes of the X-Factor (and a lot of clips that include 1D) and what I can find from my google searches, so I generally take a lot of liberties when writing. And even though I know that a lot of the 1D crew was not on X-Factor crew, you may see a couple familiar faces because I wanted to include them!
> 
> Hope you enjoy the story <3

“Niall! The show’s back on!” 

“I’m comin mum, hold on!” Niall flipped his binder closed and bolted down the stairs, jumping the last few steps and skidding into the living room. It would be just his luck to miss the show’s eliminations because he was doing his maths homework. Well, more like writing song lyrics and occasionally looking at an equation. Not like he’d need maths if he became a popstar! 

As he fell onto the couch the show’s intro finished playing, and two announcers showed on the telly: a man in a sharp tux and a woman in a fancy white dress. 

“Welcome back to the X-Factor UK, and we’re about to announce which acts have made it through to next week,” the man said.

“Seven acts are already safe, but now we’re looking to see which final act will join them,” the lady added. “It’s time for the results.”

The screen switched cameras to show two mentors and their contestants, one a group of 5 and the other a solo artist; all of the boys were fidgeting, holding onto either their mentor’s or each other’s hands. 

Niall nudged his mum and said, “Who do ya think is gonna make it? I bet it’ll be One Direction. No offense to Aiden but their range of vocals is just better.”

His mum hummed in thought. “Well, I don’t know about that, I’m rather hoping for Aiden.”

Niall shrugged. “Oh well, I guess we’ll find out soon.”

The hosts had moved to stand in between the two acts. Close ups of each of the acts’ faces showed, and Niall absently bit his thumbnail as he watched, picking up on their nerves. He hoped that One Direction would go through, but Aiden also seemed like a great singer so it wouldn’t be a loss either way. 

“So, One Direction and Aiden Grimshaw. One of you has received the least amount of votes tonight, and the other will be moving on, ” the female announcer said as she moved the cue cards in her hand.

“The act going through to next week is….”

The lights on the show dimmed, the screen flicking back and forth between the two groups.

“Aiden Grimshaw!” The spotlights shot toward the ecstatic teen who rushed to hug his mentor.

Niall threw a pillow at the telly and shouted, “What!?!”

His mum chuckled and patted his leg. “Don’t worry baby, that just goes to show how us mums are always right. Besides, I’m sure you and your guitar would be winners of that show anyways!”

Niall groaned. He really appreciated her support, he did. But mums were like built-in fans, so even if he played his guitar untuned and sang everything off-key she would still love it. It was great when you needed someone to help build up your confidence to sing, but Niall wanted someone who knew the business inside and out to hear him perform and tell him that he could be a star. 

“Congratulations Aiden, we’ll talk to you later and see you next week on the X-Factor!”

“But for now, let’s look at the best moments of One Direction so far-” the TV clicked off.

Niall sat up. “Mum! I was watching that!”

“Not now you aren’t. After all your maths are done feel free to mope all you want,” his mum said, picking up the pillow and tossing it back onto the couch.

He sighed and slumped back into the cushions. It wasn’t like it was him getting eliminated, anyway. Which was kind of worse, since he didn’t even get a chance to try out for X-Factor. But, seeing as he had lost his voice due to a bad case of strep throat, it wasn’t like he could have sung anyways. And by the time his voice had gotten better, auditions had moved away from Dublin and back into London. 

Niall felt a hand run through his hair as his mum said, “Don’t worry yourself, there’s always next year, yeah?”

Around ten weeks later Niall was packing his bags for Dublin, ready to spend a week at his cousin’s house. His parents were happy to see their 16-year old becoming more self-reliant and organized, but in truth, Niall wasn’t just excited because he got to see his extended family. He had a plan to try and see one of the X-Factor Live Tour shows!

* * *

Hours after they were eliminated, One Direction sat in their dressing room silent. Louis normally was the one who started the chatter, but at the moment he couldn’t think of anything other than wondering what they could have done better. Liam was sprawled out next to him on the couch and Zayn leaned against it, sitting on the floor next to Harry (who was using his jacket as a pillow and laying facedown on the carpeted floor). Daniel sat slumped in a chair, and it was as if all of the air had been let out of the room.

“Well lads, we did our best. Proud of us.” Louis laced his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Interesting, that. He wondered how many cracks could form before the thing came crashing down around them. Or could they just be from water? 

“I… I wish I could’ve worked more on my parts… I thought- I thought this time might be different but-” mumbled Liam, and Louis could see his slightly puffy eyes, still red from earlier tears. Even though Louis himself had tried out before for X-Factor, he couldn’t imagine going as far as Liam had, twice, only to be eliminated both times. Usually Liam was hyped up after their shows, but after they went backstage the Wolverhampton native just stood stiff and unmoving, tears rolling down his cheeks. Well, who was Louis to say anything, they were all crying messes after they had gone backstage.

“Don’t worry about it, bro,” said Zayn. 

A muffled, “You did great, Liam,” could only have come from Harry.

Daniel heaved out a sigh, and Louis heard him shift in his seat. “Well, after this we’re off the show, so say goodbye to being a band like this. Performing in front of crowds, great mentoring… not much else we could do that would live up to this.”

Louis squinted, looking to see if he could spot any funny outlines in the ceiling cracks before Liam suddenly sat upright and kicked him in the leg. “Oi! That hurt!”

“Sorry, sorry Louis,” Liam said hurriedly, “but we’ve still got the X-Factor Live Tour! I completely forgot!”

Louis’ head jerked down from looking at the ceiling to stare at Liam. Didn’t those spots start filling up at next week’s elimination? 

“I thought we missed the cut?” Harry’s voice wasn’t bursting with excitement, but there was a note of hope in it that Louis could hear. 

Zayn looked at Louis and raised his eyebrow in question. The older boy shrugged, making a quizzical face in response. He could barely remember to wake up for rehearsals, much less dates and events that weren’t currently scheduled for the week.

“Yeah! It’s nine acts total, right? And there’s only eight left in the competition, so we’re in!” Liam’s enthusiasm had returned, and though Louis groaned at the thought of more early morning rehearsals, he couldn’t deny the thrill he felt at the thought of performing more.

“And it’s after the show, so it’ll be so much less stress and just performing for the fun of it. That sounds awesome,” Zayn added. A small grin had appeared on his face, and he fist-bumped Harry. 

Louis' good mood was checked by Daniel, who still sat slumped on the couch. “Dannyboy, you alright?”

Daniel’s nose wrinkled, and he ran his hands through his shaggy brown hair. “Doesn’t matter, though, we’re still not going to get a contract. No one’s not going to want to sign me after this, so the whole tour would just be a waste of time.”

Louis frowned at that, but before he could comment on the whole “sign _me_ ” not “sign _us_ ” thing, Liam cut in.

“Don’t worry Danny, if anything I’m sure they’ll have celebrity guest viewers and whatnot! And there’s always producers watching the X-Factor for talent so we could get an offer still!”

At this Daniel seemed interested. “Well, count me in for performing then!”

“One Direction is back, baby!” Harry whooped in excitement, jumping up and fist pumping.

And just like that, they were hyped up all over again, ready to take on any show that came their way. Louis knew that the tour wasn’t going to start until the show ended, so there were about 8 weeks that they had to prepare. But he and his lads could do it, and they’d show their fans that they weren’t giving up just because the band had been eliminated.

No one noticed Daniel grimacing at Harry’s words.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The band works on their singing, and Niall meets someone new.

**Sometime before the X-Factor Live Tour. ******

“Alright guys, let’s do that again.” 

Liam could tell that the constant restarting was beginning to wear on Savan Kotecha, their vocal coach who was helping the band keep up with rehearsing for the tour. He had started working with them a fortnight after they had been eliminated, and Liam knew that with his help they had come a long way from where they had been previously. But now that the dates were inching closer to the live shows, it felt as though they were somehow fighting to hold their harmonies together.

“Daniel, since you’ve been asking, why don’t you take the lead on this song, and let’s try it from there,” said Savan. “Zayn and Liam, you still keep your same roles, with Harry as the lower harmony instead.” He nodded at the boys, and hit play on the iPod.

Liam sat up and listened to the opening keys, getting into the song. He had the first solo, so he looked to Savan as the vocal coach counted him in. “Looking out a dirty old window, down below the cars in the city go rushing by…” he sang. “I sit here alone and I wonder why…”

Daniel picked up the next solo. “Friday night and everyone’s moving, I can feel the heat but it’s soothing heading down… I search for the beat in this dirty town...” 

Liam drummed his fingers to the beat, relaxing into the lyrics. Whenever he was performing, all of his nerves and fears just melted into the rush of singing, and he grinned as he sang the refrain with the rest of the band:

“We’re the kids in America, whoa! We’re the kids in America, whoa!”

The rest of the song passed quicker than he could blink, and soon their voices faded out with the song. Liam looked around at the boys. Daniel seemed pleased with the song, along with Zayn and Louis, but when he looked at their youngest bandmate Liam saw that Harry didn’t seem to be happy with the singing. His lips were pressed together, and he kept running a hand through his wild curls absently.

_Well, we can’t have that_ , Liam thought. Leaning over toward Harry, he whispered, “Hey, we sounded pretty good, didn’t we?”

Harry scrunched his nose. “You all sounded aces,” he whispered back. “But, I can’t hold those low harmonies. I don’t know why...”

Liam shrugged and patted him on the back. “You sounded good to me, mate.”

Harry’s mouth quirked up in a small grin, and he sat up a little straighter.

Then Savan clapped his hands, having organized his thoughts. “Ok, better, I could hear that you guys were trying for that harmony. Liam, Louis, good job on adding your own touches while still keeping the flow going.”

Liam straightened with the praise, and he bit his lip to keep from beaming. He knew that Savan had worked with a lot of people, and hearing his praise was worth its weight in gold to him.

“Zayn, great as ever on those softer notes,” continued Savan, “and Daniel, I liked what you did with the solo, but remember to come back to the harmony with the rest of the guys, cool?” Here he paused. “Harry, it sounded good for the most part when you tried to keep it to that lower harmony, and we can work on that, alright?” The vocal coach’s tone was gentle, but Liam could still see Harry’s face crumple at the remark. However, the Cheshire native kept on a brave face and nodded tightly. “Ok, next I was thinking we could-” A ringing sound cut into the room. 

Liam panicked for a second, thinking _Oh my god, is that my phone?_ before remembering he had turned it all the way off and it was in his bag. _Wait, then whose is it?_

The question was answered when Savan pulled out his own cell and glanced at the screen. He hesitated, then grimaced apologetically at the boys. “Sorry guys, I’ve got to take this. It’s my wife. Let’s just take a short break, and when I’m done we can get back to work, cool?” He swiped at his screen and mouthed “Thanks” at the boys when they nodded back at him. Then the American pushed back his stool that he was sitting on and headed for the door, talking quietly into his iPhone.

About five seconds passed before Harry got up abruptly as well. “I’ve got to go too,” he mumbled. “Going to get some water.” Not glancing at any of the boys in the eye he quickly ducked through the door.

Liam felt bad for Harry, he knew what that felt like all too well. Maybe he should go out after him? But Daniel interrupted his thoughts. 

“I think Savan’s right, if Harry can for once get his lower harmony right then that’ll be the thing that gives us the edge to stand out over the other acts on tour.”

At this, Liam didn’t know what to say. Yeah, the bloke was right, at that moment Harry had sounded a touch out of harmony. But he had been singing the melody part for almost all of their time together, so of course it was going to take some time for him to get used to the change!

“Well, _your majesty_ , excuse Harry for having to work around your preferences. Last I checked, he was the one who usually carried the melody for us, yeah?” Louis’ voice had a defensive tone to it, one that usually came out only when someone was talking badly about one of them. Before, Liam had only heard it used with nosy interviewers, but it had come out more and more during these sessions.

Daniel’s eyes narrowed, and it struck Liam at how suddenly the “your majesty” comment described him. Dressed in a dark orange hoodie with loose fitted jeans, along with his uncombed hair and brown eyes, Daniel certainly didn’t look like a high-and-mighty king. But lounging on his stool with a detached look on his face, Liam could see it. Sure, he cared for Harry– _Or did he?_ – No, he cared for Harry, but he was never afraid to speak his mind about what they could do to improve, even if it might ~~hurt someone~~ step on someone’s toes. And that was needed. Right?

~~~~~~~~

~~~~

~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~

“I’m not saying he was bad, I’m just saying he needs to work on it. That’s all,” said Daniel, voice flat.

Liam shared a look with Zayn, who pressed his lips together and jerked his head ever so slightly at Louis. The oldest member of their band had his fists tightly clenched around the edge of his stool. Liam suddenly worried about stopping a fight between the two stubborn bandmates. He didn’t know what would happen if they did start a brawl, but it wouldn’t be anything good. A tense moment passed before Louis took a deep breath and released his hands.

“We could all use some work, I know, before we go out on tour, but thanks for bringing it up again Dannyboy,” he said, nearly gritting out the words. 

Liam worried his bottom lip between his teeth, hoping that the tension would settle. 

The _whoosh_ of a door alerted the 4 boys to when Harry and Savan came back into the room, Harry looking much happier as he tossed a water bottle back and forth between his hands. 

Saved by the vocal coach, Liam couldn’t help but think as he let out a breath of relief. He was glad that the younger lad felt better, but at the same time the Wolverhampton native couldn’t help but feel a twist of unease as he watched Daniel’s expression change from scowling to excited when the vocal coach came back into the room. Maybe he wanted to show Savan that he was serious about their singing? Liam made a mental note to talk to either Louis or Zayn (but most likely both) sometime about it.

Savan ruffled Harry’s hair before reclaiming his spot on his stool. When all 5 boys were seated and looking at him with interest he rubbed his hands together and said, “Ok, you boys ready to take it from the top?”

* * *

**Thursday, February 21 ******

********

At this point, Niall was surprised that no one in the neighborhood had called the police. Since he had arrived in Dublin two days ago (and laughed at the fact that his cousins lived on _Shamrock Street_ in _Ireland_ ) every day after lunch he took the Green Line at Brides Glen and got off at Marlborough Luas Stop, then hopped on the Red Line, getting off the train at The Point, which was the point - _ha!_ \- closest to the stadium. He had stood outside the 3Arena in the same spot both days, looking longingly at the building. Maybe the locals just felt pity for him and said to each other, “Oh, don’t worry about him. He’s just a kid whose dreams are about 20 meters away in front of him, on that brightly lit stage. Too bad he couldn’t try out.”

_Are the lights even on now?_ Niall wondered. The acts had arrived late last night, but there was a bit of activity going on around the stadium. He shivered in the slightly cool breeze coming from the river, regretting wearing only black jeans and a dark grey long-sleeve. The stadium was right on the edge of the River Liffey, and from what Niall could see it looked like the pavilion he was standing in wrapped around the whole building. _May as well see the whole place while I’m here, right?_

As he neared one of the backdoor entrances, a loud bang echoed. Niall started jogging over, hoping no one had gotten hurt, only to see a man on the ground with papers gently ruffling in the breeze. A couple of them caught a draft, and they swirled away from the crouched man towards Niall. He jumped up and snatched them out of the air before hurrying over to him.

“Uh, sorry, but I think you’ve dropped this?” Niall held out the now slightly crumpled paper.

The man- P. Roberts, his X-Factor nametag read, glanced up. As soon as he saw the papers Niall was holding his shoulders slumped in relief. “Thanks mate, I owe you one,” he said gratefully, and tucked the papers into a folder securely. The rest were still fluttering on the stones until another big gust came, rustling the trees with the chill February air and scattering them even more.

Niall winced sympathetically, and quickly jogged after some stray papers before they got too far. The whole situation was like that awkward moment in school when your pencil bag fell and the zipper broke, spilling the contents everywhere in the hallway and leaving you to scramble around on the floor trying to pick up everything before the bell rang. So if he could help this P. Roberts gather his papers before they got lost, why not?

Working quickly before another wind came, Niall grabbed as many papers as he could, trying to shuffle them into somewhat of a stack before he handed them back over. To his surprise, when he turned back around the man was over by the entrance to the arena, scanning a card before opening the door with one hand (the other was tightly clutching papers). He glanced over his shoulder and waved at Niall. 

Niall nearly dropped the papers in shock. He was being invited into the stadium? Then his brain started working again, and he dashed over toward the door. The man was inside, with an arm bracing it open, so Niall quickly slipped through the open door. 

He barely heard it shut as he caught his breath, cheeks red from the cold. _He was inside 3Arena. Inside. 3. Arena. Holy-_

A hand on his shoulder startled him, but when he looked up he saw the man grinning at him. “Hey, again, thanks for grabbing my papers for me. I don’t think we could’ve kept this show on time if I had lost those in the wind.”

Papers. Papers? Oh! Niall offered him the messy stack in his hands. Now that he wasn’t worried about them all blowing away he could see that they were highlighted over in multiple colors, words scribbled in the margins and crossed out lines. They looked an awful lot like his history notes (but with less doodles on them). “Sure, uh, not a problem.”

The man added these to his already thick folder tucked under his arm, and looked as though he was about to turn away before he tilted his head questioningly. “Did Martha assign you anything else for today?” Before Niall could answer the man continued. “Well, if she has a problem with it she can radio me-” Niall assumed he meant the black walkie-talkie clipped onto his belt “-because right now you’re going to be following me around today and helping me not lose my shite whenever something goes wrong.”

Niall stood still, questions spinning inside his brain. Help him the rest of the day? Could he even do that? “Uh-”

“And don’t worry if you lost your badge, just say you’re with Paul Roberts -that’s me,” the man added, “and you’ll be fine. Alright with you?” Paul’s kind eyes crinkled with his grin, and Niall could tell that he wouldn’t be offended with whatever he chose to do. 

“I mean, if you’d want me to help then I’d love to!” Niall was grinning now too. He got to stay and see behind the scenes at X-Factor for a day!

“Brilliant! I just need to make a call, so why don’t you text whoever you need to text so it doesn’t look like you're skipping out on work, and then meet me through those double doors.” He pointed at a set of them just across the room.

Niall nodded eagerly. “Course!” He reached to pull his phone out of his back pocket, and started a text message to his aunt, then deleted it. Better to call, since she wouldn’t pick up a text right away. As the phone rang he started biting his nails, hoping that she wouldn’t say no. 

* * *

Paul Roberts pulled open one of the double doors and radioed Martha to let her know that he was heading down to the stage soon to help with the choreography. Then he started to pick through his papers, trying to give them some semblance of organization. If it hadn’t been for the crew member to help pick up all his notes he would have had to call everyone back in and start from the top. Hopefully the kid could help him, not just anyone would go out of their way to gather up loose papers blowing around in the wind for someone else. He also seemed like a good kid in general, cheerful and willing to help. 

The small windows in the doors let him see the lad in question, who was pacing around while talking on his phone, biting his nails as, what Paul assumed, an unconscious habit. Then he stopped short, a beaming grin on his face, and nodded before hanging up the phone. He let out a whoop and jumped up in the air, before seemingly remembering that he was indoors. Paul let out a laugh, and stacked up his papers as the boy barged through the door.

“I can help!” he exclaimed. “My name’s Niall, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Niall, you can call me Paul. Ready to work?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta da!! I actually didn't expect to finish this so fast, but here we are! If you didn't recognize their names, Savan Kotecha was actually their vocal coach on X factor series 7, and he wrote "That's What Makes You Beautiful" (plus a crazy amount of other songs for 1D) and Paul Roberts was their choreographer! 
> 
> If you seen any editing/grammar mistakes, let me know! I'll be happy to go back and fix them.


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall meets another crew member, and the boys face one of their most dreaded fears: choreography.

The stage lights were shining brightly, partly illuminating the rest of the hall. Various crew members were scattered throughout the space, some sitting in a group together in the rows of seats, others bustling about on stage or in front of it in the pit. The seats surrounded the stage like an amphitheater, seemingly disappearing into the ceiling, which helped focus the attention on the stage. Niall followed behind Paul as they moved down an aisle toward the pit, where a large folding table had been set up and several people with badges and walkie talkies were conversing. 

As Paul approached the table, Niall fell behind him and glanced at the people he waved at. Two women and a man acknowledged him, then continued their discussion. 

Paul shook his papers at the group before sitting down in a seat. “Thanks for waiting for me, just had a little tussle with the wind outside.”

The shorter of the two women laughed, wild red hair bouncing with the movement. “Well, ah'd've hoped ye wouldn’t. A wee bit of a lightweight you are, eh?”

“Oi, Claire, ease up on poor Paul. He’s not _that_ much of a lightweight‒ compared to the breeze,” the other woman responded. She winked at Paul, and went back to writing something down on sheet music.

“Glad to see you back, mate,” said the man gruffly. He was holding a paper in each hand and glancing back and forth between the two, mouth pursed in concentration. Niall got a headache just from watching him.

“Well, before we get to work, I’d like to introduce you all to my new assistant today,” Paul stated. At that, their heads all turned toward him, and Niall gulped, nerves coming back just a little. “This is Niall-” Paul gestured at him “-and since he saved my arse by helping me catch some runaway papers, I asked if he wouldn’t mind sticking about for the rest of the day.

“Niall, this here is Claire,” ‒the woman with the wild red hair waved and gave a big grin‒ “B.J.,” ‒who tipped an imaginary hat‒ “and Naomi,” Paul finished as Naomi winked at Niall with a warm grin.

Niall beamed back. “Hello!” So far, everyone he’d met was really nice. _Is everyone here like this?_ he wondered. _It’d be so much fun to work here._

“Well, Niall, thanks for saving Paul’s arse,” Claire said. She looked pointedly at Paul. “I’d’ve taken this sassanack and clubbed ’im o'er the head fer makin’ us start o’er again! De ye ken, Paul??”

Niall laughed quietly because Paul looked sheepish and very glad to have not angered the fiery woman when he nodded in understanding. He understood all too well that his mum got angry when he didn’t listen to her reminders to not forget his homework or his lunch. And then he did, and got an earful (and a kiss on the cheek) when he had to come running back inside.

“Sorry if you didn’t get all that Niall, when Claire gets angry her accent gets loads thicker.” Naomi was staring at papers on the table in front of her while she twisted her long braided hair up into a bun.

“Alright, well, who’s up first?” Paul asked.

“We’ve got One Direction, Matt Cardle and then Rebecca Ferguson up first today,” B.J. answered.

Niall sat up straighter. He remembered seeing all of them on the show! Especially One Direction, because of how shocked he had been initially when they were eliminated. _Am I going to get to watch them?_

“I’ve got some ideas for how the lights and backgrounds could be blended,” added Naomi. She slid them over to Paul, who started reading over the papers.

“Jobby. Shite,” muttered Claire. “I don’t have notes for Rebecca. I think I left then in the office.”

Paul hummed. “Well, I think One Direction is supposed to be here in 3 minutes, so either we have them wait or…” his face lit up. “Niall!”

Niall snapped to attention in his seat. The metal had started to dig into his back, so it was a welcome distraction. “Yeah?”

“Do you think you could get Claire’s papers from her office here? Just go to the left over there through that door, take a right, and it should be down the hall, last door on the right.” Paul pointed to a gray door with a sign taped on it. “I’m sure you’ve seen it before, but since it’s a temporary office they get moved around a lot.”

“Sure, not a problem!” Niall said. And he meant it. Even though he hated working or anything like it, this was different. It was the _X-Factor_.

Claire looked relieved, and Paul clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, Niall, that’s a huge help.” 

“And now it’s me own arse you’re saving, lad, so thanks from me too!” the Scotswoman chimed in. 

Niall gave a thumbs up and started to walk away, before he paused and turned back. Maybe he could help in another way too? “Uh, Paul?”

“Yeah?”

“Anything else you need me to get? Or like, erm, pass on a message?” 

B.J. spoke up. “Alright, mate, two things. One, you’ve got my respect right there by askin’ that. Two...could you get my water bottle?” He scratched the back of his neck and shrugged. “Same room as Claire’s stuff, just on the bookshelf.”

Niall reddened at the compliment. “Um, thanks! And what does it look like?”

“Pink, with a unicorn on the side and some sparkly flower stickers,” answered the stage manager. “It’s my good luck charm. Ever since my little girl got it for me I’ve been able to figure out any problem that comes with the job.”

Niall grinned and gave him a thumbs up. He respected any lucky charm, especially because he had something like that on his guitar. Not a sparkly pink unicorn, but he could appreciate B.J.’s daughter looking out for her dad.

“Ok, ok, calm down,” Paul said laughingly. “He is still _my_ assistant.” 

“Not anymore he’s not!” Mary exclaimed cheerfully.

“Sorry about your luck Paul, but you’re going to have to share,” Naomi said with a big grin on her face.

“Yeah… normally I’d say I’m fine, but with Niall?” B.J. shrugged. “Too late!”

Paul pointed at each of them with mock-sternness. “Tossers. Selfish. The whole lot of you.” He glanced at Niall. “Well, seems like Naomi and I are good, so we’ll see you back here soon, Niall!”

“Hold on!” Naomi said. “He’s too nice to say no, so we need to make sure no one else grabs him for other tasks. Here.” She ripped off a paper from a battered leather notebook and scribbled furiously. Then she passed it to Claire, who read it and snorted. Then the red-head pulled a pen from behind her ear and wrote on it, then passed it to B.J. who did the same thing, and then slid it over to Paul. Paul read it, nodded at Naomi, then scribbled on the paper as well. “Here ya go, Niall. If anyone asks you where your badge is or what’s your job just show them this paper.”

Niall reached over and took it from the choreographer’s hand. It read: ‘To whomever it may concern: Niall’s our assistant. Piss off, don’t steal him away. Sincerely, Naomi, Claire, B.J., Paul R..’ The adults had signed their names, and Naomi had even drawn a smiley face at the end of the note. Niall let out a laugh, and stared down at it with a big grin. _Holy shite, it’s like a badge, but better, ’cause I’ve got autographs!_ “Thanks!” he said for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I’ll go get your stuff now.”

Turning around, Niall was buzzing with hardly contained shouts of joy. He barely registered the other real, actual crewmembers he passed, or the fact that One Direction had just walked out onto the stage. As he neared the door, though, he could start to read the sign on it. ‘Backstage: Official Personnel ONLY.’ Niall hesitated just a moment, cheer fading. _He_ wasn’t ‘official personnel’. Just an Irish lad who had somehow managed to be invited into the backstage rehearsals of X-Factor. Then he felt the folded note in his hand, and took a deep breath to steady himself. Niall shoved the note into his back pocket and pulled the door open. After all, he _was_ an assistant to the four people about to help choreograph One Direction’s performance. That counted for something, right?

* * *

“No way, absolutely not, stop it-”

“Zayn, you have to learn the moves eventually,” Liam said, tugging the Bradford boy onto the stage.

“No, actually. I could just stand on that X and we could call it a day.” If one thing hadn’t changed from their original X-Factor days, Zayn still hated learning choreography. He probably always would.

“C’mon Zayn, it’s Paul! We love Paul!” Louis said. “Plus, if it gets too boring we can always just do our own thing.”

Zayn groaned. “It’s just... it’s _dancing_.”

Daniel appeared, and clapped Zayn on that back. “Well, let’s get to it now, then? We don’t want to hold up the show!” 

Harry frowned at that. “Well, we _can_ wait a little bit, I think.”

“Boys! I can hear you in the wings!” Paul’s voice echoed on the stage.

“Lads, we’ve been compromised!” Louis whispered. “We’re going to have to go in guns blazing.” He held up his hands, fingers pointed to make a gun shape, and glanced about as if scanning for dangers. The Doncaster singer looked pointedly at all of them, and the rest of the group followed his lead. (“Zayn, do not walk back through that door! It hasn’t been cleared!”)

The band moved awkwardly in a half-shuffle half-walk toward the main X on center stage, and stood there for a moment. _At least it’s not choreography_ , Zayn thought. _Anything’s better than that._

“Freeze!” Harry yelled. “This is a-” he turned around to the group. “What is this again?” he whispered.

“A fight against evil!” Louis proclaimed.

“I have no clue,” Daniel muttered.

“Wait, are we ninjas or spies?” Zayn asked Louis. It was an important difference! (Louis shrugged. What a big help!)

“A stickup?” Liam offered.

Harry whirled around, fingers still pointed like a gun, but this time at the crew in the pit. “This is a stickup!” he continued.

_Cowboys? Or robbers?_ Zayn thought. Then he shrugged and matched Harry’s hands with his own finger gun. _Why not?_

“We demand control over our dance moves and all the snacks in the vending machines you can get!” Harry paused a moment. “Also getting to sleep in whenever we want!”

Paul laughed. “Sorry boys, can’t do that for you now. Even though that would certainly be hilarious to see.” He climbed up the side steps and walked over toward them. “Ok, so let’s get you boys into starting positions…” he mumbled as he grabbed Zayn lightly by the shoulders and moved him over to a marker on the stage.

_Damn_ , thought Zayn as he begrudgingly accepted his fate, standing where X marked the spot. _Maybe we should have been ninjas instead..._

* * *

_Ok, through that door, take a right, down the hall, last door on the right_ , Niall thought as he walked through the hallways, occasionally dodging a rolling cart or a group of people with very official-looking walkie-talkies and badges. _And don’t get lost._

He nearly passed the door that had a sign on it reading: ‘Claire O’Malley, Sound Engineer’ and had to skid to a stop, sneakers squeaking on the polished concrete floor.

Inside the room he saw a small wooden desk which the papers were on (labeled helpfully with ‘Rebecca’ on the top) and he easily found B.J.’s good-luck water bottle on the bookshelf that lined the back wall. Grabbing both, Niall turned to head out the door, and confidently turned back to the right to go back to the stage. Then the hallway split, with one side running off to the left, and one continuing down in the same direction. _Which way?_

Biting his lip, Niall tried to think of when he had turned right. Had it been this close? _Oh well, might as well try it_ , he thought, and started off down the corridor. Thankfully this one was empty, but when Niall didn’t see anyone after a couple minutes he started to worry. So when he finally heard someone walking down the hall, Niall went over to ask them for directions, because at this point he didn’t want to be even more late.

“Um, excuse me? Sir?” Niall winced inwardly. _Great. Way to make it even more awkward Niall._

Thankfully the man looked over with a chuckle. “No need to call me sir, Paul will do just fine. How can I help ya?”

“Well, I was getting some papers for Claire and a water bottle for B.J., but I think I took a wrong turn getting down here, and I was wondering if you could help me get back to the stage?” Niall shifted on his feet. Then when he read Paul’s badge he gulped. Of course he would ask Paul Higgins, the _head of security_ , for directions.

Paul’s brow furrowed, and he seemed to look right through Niall. “Sure, do you have your badge on you?”

Niall promised Naomi he would give her the biggest hug as he hurriedly pulled out the scrap piece of paper from his pocket. “Well, I don’t, but they told me to show this to someone if they asked for help.” He watched Paul read the note before letting out a laugh and giving it back to him.

“Alright, it seems like you’re well spoken for Niall, I apologize for the doubt! And the stage is actually back down that hall, take a left, then it’s the next hallway where you take a left and it should be right at the end, with a big sign that says ‘STAGE’ on it. Can’t miss it!”

Niall stuffed the note back into his pocket and started jogging back the right way. “Thanks!” he called over his shoulder to Paul. Then he hurried on his way as to not be even later than he probably already was. At least he knew where he was going this time!

* * *

“Alright boys, here we go: 5, 6, 7, 8!” Paul pointed at them as the music started up.

Zayn focused on his steps and tried to not frown or look down as Paul said he had been sometimes doing. _Left step, up two, red X, stop._ He had been getting better, but it seemed like the millionth time they had done it, and the music was getting old and the steps were all blurring together. They waited for the chorus to end before breaking off again _-black X two counts-_ and then coming back for the final verse _-middle of the stage-_ where they finished. 

“Okay, okay, actually a lot better!” Paul scratched his chin and turned to look at the 3 other people sitting at the table. “What do you guys think? Naomi?”

“It would definitely work with the lights, if it could just be a bit smoother on that last transition that would be great,” the woman responded, jotting down some notes.

“Claire?” Paul asked.

“Looks great t’me, I’ve got my sound stuff all worked out.”

The man simply gave a thumbs up, to which Paul nodded back. “Ok, we could maybe-”

Zayn inwardly groaned at doing the whole choreography again. _Please, please let him let us go._

Then a door opened with a click, and in skidded a lad with a mop of dyed-blond hair, papers and for some reason a pink water bottle clutched in his right hand.

The red-haired woman (Claire, maybe?”) stood up and rushed over to him, engulfing him in a big hug, then plucking the papers out of his hand. “Pure dead brilliant ye are,” she said to the blond while sorting through them, and as she passed Paul she nudged him. “Now, are ye gonna give these lads a break? A little rest hurt no one.”

Zayn decided Claire was his favorite person now. Either her or the lad who had brought the papers in the first place.

“Eh, why not,” Paul decided. “Run along, you’ve earned it,” he directed to the band on stage.

Zayn whooped along with the other boys. They were free! Then just as he got off stage he noticed his shoelace was untied, so he waved the other boys off and bent down to tie it. Just then, he heard someone.

“Paul?”

“Yeah, Daniel?”

“I was just wondering… our tour is coming to an end soon, and since that means we won’t be performing as a band that much longer I was wondering if you had any tips or new dances for solo choreography?”

“Solo?” Paul echoed Zayn’s question out loud. 

“Yeah! I mean, you’re one of the best, so I figured why not ask when I have the chance?”

“Well, I’m hesitant to give you more choreography, especially solo stuff, since you’ve already learned the stuff with your band just now.

“...please?”

A pause, and then: “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you so much Paul! You won’t regret it, this won’t affect my performance at all!”

And that was Zayn’s cue to leave. He stood up and snuck out the door, mind spinning with thoughts. _Does Daniel want to leave the band? Why would he want to leave?_ Zayn shook his head. He probably was just wanting some more time with a famous mentor, and who could blame him? Paul Roberts had worked with some famous people. 

Besides, they were a team, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Finally finished this one! Sorry it took a bit longer, but, good news, I've got the whole story plotted out so now it'll be like following a script, so much easier! (Plus it'll give me motivation to write, hopefully!)
> 
> Hope you like the story so far, and if you have any suggestions feel free to comment! :)
> 
> Cheers!


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall's enjoying getting to know all of the crew, plus the lads of 1D! …well, not all of them.

“Niall?”

“Right here!”

“Mind getting my notes for the soloists? It’s in the lounge this time.”

“Sure thing Paul!” Niall popped up from the audience seat and jogged over to the door that led backstage. Now much more confident in where he was going, the Irish lad waved hello to some of the crew talking in the hallways, not pausing to make sure he made the right turn or checking the names on the doors. 

Though his first day assisting Paul had been brilliant, since rehearsals were scheduled to be over the next day, Niall thought that that’s all he would get to see. But during Paije Richardson’s rehearsal Paul’s radio buzzed, and the next thing Niall knew the choreographer was announcing that a singer (Niall thought he heard the name Wagner through the crackle of the radio) had gotten strep throat, so they had to push back the tour for a week. His mum had given him permission to keep working with a chuckle and good luck wishes over the phone, and Paul had all but made him sign a contract saying he was coming back. 

And so here Niall found himself, an (un)official assistant to Paul and by proximity the other 3 producers. He still kept the note from the first day folded up in his back pocket, as it had become one of his good luck charms, but since everyone knew him now it wasn’t needed. Paul (from security) gave him a fistbump whenever he saw him, and other crew members chatted with him when Niall was off in the wings watching another act practice their routine.

The door with the green sign on it saying ‘Producers Lounge’ opened with a creak, and Niall went straight over to the swivel chair, where he knew Paul usually left his stuff on the seat. The lounge wasn’t all that fancy, but it did have a couple couches, some vending machines, lots of chairs, and two desks that all fit, so the room was a decent size. Two other guys were inside, who Niall recognized as Aiden and Harry, lounging on the couches. 

“Wait, so you’re telling me that your favorite joke is a knock-knock joke?” said Aiden incredulously. “Mate, no way.”

Harry was lying upside down on the couch, feet slung over the back and head hanging over the edge of the seat. “Yes way,” he said back.

Niall frowned. _Maybe they’re on the desk?_ Sitting on the chair, he rolled over and started scanning the files shoved inside the drawers. While he read off the names - _Lighting Sequences, M.B. choreography, P. Richardson Sound Settings_ \- Niall half-listened to the singers’ conversation.

“Ok, now you have to tell me Harry.”

“I thought you didn’t like knock-knock jokes?”

“Well, if this one’s as brilliant as you say it is maybe I’ll start to like them!”

A pause.

“C’mon Harry! You’d get to brag and say you made me a fan of puns and all that!”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me.” A shuffling sound accompanied it, and when Niall glanced up Harry had moved himself around so that he was sitting up on the couch. 

_Must be a bloody good joke,_ Niall chuckled to himself.

“Ok, ready?”

“Ready.”

“Knock-knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Lil old lady!”

“Lil old lady who?”

“I didn’t know you could yodel!”

Niall snorted and bit his lip to keep from laughing. It was one of those “so-bad-it's-funny'' jokes, but the way Harry said it made it funnier than it was. He found the notes labeled ‘Soloists- choreography’ and quickly tapped the papers to line them up. Then Niall looked up and saw Aiden had buried his hands in his face with a groan.

“What? It’s a good joke!” Harry looked delighted, completely unaffected by Aiden’s reaction. In fact, he looked a bit quizzical as to why Aiden wasn’t laughing at the clearly hilarious and extremely clever joke.

Niall let out a burst of laughter, then stopped short. They hadn’t been talking to him! For all they knew he was some weird, eavesdropping crewmember. _JesusMaryJoseph, have mercy on me_ , Niall thought, and he felt his cheeks getting red with embarrassment. 

Harry, to Niall’s surprise, beamed at him. “Thanks, mate! I knew my joke was funny!”

Niall shook his head laughing again. “I was laughin’ at the look on your face, mate!”

Harry pouted. “Heeeey, I think my joke’s funnier than my face.”

Now Aiden started laughing with Niall. Then he glanced at the clock on the desk and jolted upright. “Bloody hell. I’m late!” The door squeaked as Aiden threw it open and dashed off down the hallway.

Niall looked at Harry, hoping he wasn’t late for something as well. The curly-haired boy shrugged. 

“I think I’ve got choreography tonight,” Harry said, and he looked curiously at Niall. “Your face seems familiar, have I seen you around before?”

“Oh, yeah, maybe? I’m kind of helping Paul out a bit, plus the other producers. Don’t really know how it ended up like this but I just kinda grab their stuff for them or take messages to people.” Niall waved the folder at Harry, then froze. _Oh I’m an eejit. Stupid!_ “Actually, I have to go take this to him right now!”

Harry seemed unfazed. “Oh, well, nice to meet you!” He watched Niall gather up the folder and run over to the door, then called out, “Glad you liked my joke!”

Niall rolled his eyes, a grin on his face. “Whatever helps you sleep at night!” he called back. As he jogged toward the stage door, a grin spread over Niall’s face. Who knew Harry Styles liked knock-knock jokes?

* * *

When Paul called out for One Direction to come out from offstage to start their choreography, Niall noticed B.J. discreetly start a timer. Apparently he had been timing the band, begrudgingly impressed with how well they were able to stall what was supposed to be a one hour rehearsal into two, sometimes two and a half hours. 

This time was no different, and eventually the band tumbled out from behind the curtain. At this point, Niall had memorized most of the choreography simply because he had watched it the most out of all the acts, and Paul’s instructions played on repeat. It might have also been to the fact that he was also soaking up any advice the producers gave to any act on stage, like how to stand to project your voice or what pose gave off confidence and what made you seem timid onstage. When vocal instructors came to sit in on it too, Niall inwardly groaned anytime he had to run an errand since he didn’t want to miss anything they said. He started practicing when he could, humming tunes while running around backstage and working on the techniques he heard described.

“Alright, boys, please. Let’s start it from the top?” Paul clapped his hands together and nodded at someone to start the music. He seemed to never run out of patience; rather, the experienced choreographer kept the energy in the room up and made sure the way he taught the dances wasn’t boring.

Niall shifted in his chair, and glanced over at B.J.. The stage manager held up his phone with a wry smile. 

00:05:12, read the blinking screen.

Niall grinned back and gave a thumbs up to the man, who rolled his eyes playfully and went back to reading his notes.

Niall focused his attention on stage. He saw the boys meandering to their spots, with Harry shifting from foot to foot on his marked X. Then he spotted Niall in the crowds, and his grin widened as he waved quickly at the Irish lad, eyes cutting back and forth between Niall and Paul. _He remembers me!_ Niall thought excitedly, and waved back. The intro started, and Harry’s face got a focused look as he went through the dance, with Niall counting along with him in his head.

As the practice progressed, Niall and Harry kept making silly faces at each other in the breaks between practicing, or whenever Harry was bored with the dancing. Which was a lot, and with that Niall could agree. It looked fun to do the dances in front of crowds, but when it was a recording being played on loop, and everyone was tired at the end of the night? No thanks! As the practice went on, the boys got more and more creative with their looks, and Niall swore Harry almost fell over from laughing one time, but managed to look as though he was about to tie his shoe.

Soon, though, B.J.’s timer read 01:54:24, and Paul started to wrap up the practice, satisfied with where the boys were in their dance. Harry stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes, and Niall nearly fell over silently giggling at the confused face Liam made when he looked over at his bandmate. The boys were ushered off the stage, and Niall waved his hands wildly at Harry from behind the producers. Harry stuck a peace sign in the air in response as he rushed off the stage with his bandmates.

* * *

“Harry, what was the peace sign for?” Liam’s voice came from behind him as Harry glanced back one more time at the crew member he had been making faces with during the rehearsal. The rest of the band had gone ahead to eat dinner, but Liam had hung back with Harry.

“A goodbye to my new friend over there!” Harry responded cheerily. He recognized the lad from earlier in the day when he had told one of his amazing jokes to Aiden and the blond had burst out laughing. His laugh was pretty hilarious, too, which made Harry smile. 

“Oh, cool!” said Liam. “The blond one, right?”

“Yup! Met him earlier today when he laughed at one of my jokes. I think he might be an assistant, but I didn’t see his badge so I couldn’t tell.” Harry stuffed his hands into his pockets and waited as Liam turned back to look again at the pit.

“The blond one, right?” At Harry’s nod Liam jogged over, and the two started to head toward the stage exit as well. “What’s his name?”

“It’s- huh.” Harry frowned. “I never caught it.”

Liam patted the younger boy on the back. “Well, if he’s helping Paul I’m sure we’ll see him again soon,” he said comfortingly. 

“I hope so! He’s the first one to laugh at my joke!”

“For good reason!” Liam said with a laugh.

“Hey! I’ve seen you laughing at my jokes too, don’t deny it!”

“No haven’t- ow! Harry! Stop laughing!”

* * *

“Louis, keep an eye out on the door! I’m almost done!” 

“We would’ve been finished ages ago if we could both put up the sticky notes!” Louis grumbled, but he begrudgingly peered out through the doorway.

“I’m almost done, and you couldn’t reach the ceiling anyways!” Zayn made sure to keep his balance while he stood on one of the chairs in Aiden’s room. In one hand he held a pad of sticky notes, while the other carefully covered the ceiling of the room with the brightly colored squares. The rest of the room was a sea of orange, blue, and pink sticky notes. Sprawling over the room’s furniture and climbing up the walls, Zayn had to admit it turned out better than he thought it would.

He and Louis had been bored out of their minds, wandering around when Louis had the idea to prank someone. Zayn had spotted a stack of sticky notes on a desk, so he and Louis swiped them and ran off towards Aiden’s room where they started on using up every last sticky note they could. (Originally they were going to use glitter, but it was hard to find; plus, they liked Aiden and didn’t want to torture him _too_ much.)

Now the room was almost covered, which left Zayn to finish up the ceiling and Louis keeping guard. “Hey, I think I’m done, help me cover this chair so we can get out of here!” Zayn called out to the Doncaster lad.

“Finally! Give me some of those would ya?” Louis stretched out his hand and made a grabby motion.

Zayn rolled his eyes with a grin and handed over half of his stack, silently getting back to covering the chair he had just been standing on. The two worked fast and were almost done when they heard quick footsteps outside.

“Shit, Louis, d’you think it’s Aiden?” Zayn hissed.

Louis bit his lip and shrugged. “I hope not?” he whispered back. “I guess we’ll have to run for it!”

Zayn nodded. Maybe he wouldn’t catch them if they got away quick enough? “Alright just one more to put on and then-”

The person outside rapped on the door, then burst into the room saying, “Oi, Aiden, Paul said he-” before stopping short, eyes wide while taking in the room.

Zayn shared a look with Louis, who gave a tiny shrug. _Who's this? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him around before_ , Zayn thought. He hoped the lad wouldn’t tell on them, but really, Zayn had no clue what he would say.

“This is amazing!”

_Definitely not that._

“If you think this is great, wait until you see our next one!” Louis said proudly. 

_Really?_ “Louis!” Zayn yelped. He elbowed the older singer and eyed the other boy in the room. 

The lad in mention still had a smile on his face. “No, really, this is great!” he said, looking around at the sticky note-covered room. “How long did it take for ya t’do this?” 

Zayn glanced at Louis again, who looked right back at him and made a _go-on_ gesture with his hands. Even though they didn’t really know him, the blond hadn’t done anything suspicious so far. Plus, with his big grin and happy-go-lucky mood, Zayn didn’t want to risk hurting his feelings. Which had him pause for a moment at thinking that before he answered, since he had just met the lad moments ago. “About 20 or so minutes?”

“Well, we’re still not done yet,” Louis said. He pulled off the last sticky note from the bottom of the stack and waved it around like a flag.

“I’m guessing it’ll go right there, right?”

Zayn looked to where the lad was pointing and nodded. The last open spot, almost exactly the shape of the sticky note.

“Well,” the blond - Zayn reminded himself to ask the lad’s name soon- said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I guess I’ll leave ya to it then.”

“Wait!” Zayn didn’t know why, but he plucked the final sticky note out of Louis’ hand and offered it to the other lad. “Want to do the honors? Since you didn’t snitch?”

Immediately the blond’s face lit up, but he tried to hide it and kicked at the door frame with forced nonchalance. “Are you sure?”

Zayn looked over to Louis, who nodded earnestly. “ ’Course we are!”

The lad took the sticky note from Zayn with a grin and stuck it to the ground with a flourish. “Aaaand the last one!” He beamed at the two grinning singers. Louis clapped him on the back, and Zayn ruffled his hair.

“A nice addition to our crew, eh?” said Louis.

Zayn nodded in agreement. “Brilliant. Anyways, bro, what’s your-”

“Shh!” The blond carefully moved toward the door and cracked it open, then straightened in alarm. He turned back towards Zayn and Louis and whispered, “It’s Aiden!”

Zayn froze, and he tried to think of if they would have enough time to hide.

“Run!” Louis shouted, and grabbed both lads by the arm.

The 3 boys burst through the door, and turned to run down the end of the hallway. Louis led the way, with the other two following. Zayn thought he heard a shout from Aiden, and with a glance at the other two they all ran a little faster, laughing at Aiden’s yells for them to stop.

Soon, though, it seemed as though the hallway Louis was leading them down turned into a dead end, with closed doors on all sides. They came panting to a stop, and Zayn bent over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

“Louis, do you even know where you’re going?” Zayn huffed. It felt like he had a stitch in his side, but the glee at getting away overwhelmed the burn.

Louis laughed breathlessly from his spot on the floor. “Zee, I have absolutely no bloody idea!”

Just then, a shout was heard from down the hall, along with the sound of footsteps. “You three seriously had to put sticky notes on all of my clothes?!?”

 _Uh oh._ “Uh, Louis?” Zayn asked. “Know where we should go now?”

Louis bit his lip. “Since this is a dead end...not really?”

The three boys were silent, hearing the footsteps get closer.

“I think I remember a spot we can go to?” 

Zayn looked over at the other lad. “How much farther?”

“Not that far, but are either of you bad with heights?”

Louis groaned, heaving himself up from the floor. “Anything’s better than meeting Aiden here, but I think we’re good.”

“Ok, let’s-”

Zayn cut the blond off. “Wait, wait, wait.”

The other boys looked at him questioningly.

“What’s your name? I think we’re well past introductions now, but…” Zayn shrugged.

“Oh! My name’s Niall, nice to meet ya,” he replied with a grin.

“Well, Niall,” Zayn said as footsteps came pounding down the hall. “Lead the way!”

To say that Niall knew the building like the back of his hand was an understatement. Immediately the lad took them through the door on their right, and then led them through the maze of interconnecting rooms. Sometimes a few people would be inside one, but Niall waved at them as they ran buy, laughing at their puzzled faces. They came out of an unused office into a narrow hallway, which was where Niall finally slowed down.

“Ok,” he said between breaths,” I think… just down this hallway…”

Zayn leaned against the wall, glad they could rest. Of course, that was when Aiden, walking across the hallway at the other end spotted them. He turned toward them and started running.

Niall bounced on the balls of his feet. “Ok, follow me!” And took off at a light jog.

Zayn and Louis spared a glance. _Does this guy have limitless energy or something?_

Thankfully, Niall only went a couple meters down the hallway, made a sharp turn, and then quickly opened a small door. Zayn and Louis followed him inside, where they were quickly squished together in the tight space. Niall closed the door, and they all held their breath as Aiden’s footsteps went running past them. Zayn could see the outline of Niall’s face as he pressed his ear to the door, most likely to listen and see if Aiden was coming back. Then he turned to face the two singers with a grin.

“Follow me,” said Niall, squeezing past Louis toward the back of the storage closet. 

“Oh, yeah, straight to the back then?” Louis teased, and Zayn could imagine that he had a curious look on his face.

“More like straight up,” was Niall’s muffled reply as he pushed a rack of clothes to the side (as much as he could).

Zayn’s eyes widened as he saw a ladder appear. The steel ladder was bolted to the concrete wall, and it appeared to go straight up. “So you weren’t pullin’ our legs when you asked if we were afraid of heights.”

“Well, it’s not that high up, but I just wanted to make sure!” Niall turned and started to climb up. Then he looked back down at the two boys with a grin. “Coming?”

At that, they all scrambled up the ladder. At the top they came out onto a small platform that was off to the side from the main catwalks above the stage. It was dim lighting, but Zayn could see the metal walks and railings criss-crossing each other, along with wires for the heavy, hot stage lights and ropes for curtains and pulleys. When he looked down, he could see people on the stage below moving around, and acts practicing choreography. 

“It’s usually empty up here, most of the stage lighting can be controlled by remote,” Niall said. “And the ones that do need to be adjusted by hand don’t need to be changed as often.”

“Mate, this is wicked!” Louis said. He peered over the railing and grinned. “How’d you even find this anyways?”

Niall shrugged. “I get bored a lot, plus it’s fun watching acts from up here.”

“It’s like our own little world,” Zayn mused. He walked over toward the middle of the stage and sat down, legs dangling over the edge while he crossed his arms over the middle bar in the railings and rested his chin on them.

Louis and Niall joined him, and for a moment they all just sat and enjoyed the peacefulness of it all.

“I’m- I’m actually a little afraid of tight spaces, so that’s why I love it up here,” said Niall. “It’s so open and private at the same time, I don’t feel scared at all.”

Zayn nodded. “Well, for me, I hate learning choreography. I’m scared that I’ll mess up on live television or that I’ll look dumb. I almost quit X-Factor because of it.”

“Bet you’re glad you didn’t though, right?” Niall looked over at him. “That’s a once in a lifetime shot, mate.”

Zayn nodded. “Yeah, plus, I wouldn’t’ve met the rest of the guys in 1D.”

“Awww, Zaynie, I’m touched!” Louis sniffed and wiped away a fake tear.

“Ok, I take that back, everyone but Louis,” Zayn said with a grin.

“Oi! I’m a pleasure to be around, and a bloody amazing friend according to, like, everyone I know!” Louis lightly shoved Zayn, who leaned into Niall.

Zayn looked at Niall. “He’s also very humble.”

Niall laughed.

* * *

Liam walked toward the stage, counting the beats in his head as he ran through the choreography. He was stuck on this one part, and it was hard to remember what the steps were- it was like they all blurred together in his brain. So, Liam decided that he just needed to go onstage and run through it a couple times to make sure that it all made sense so he wouldn’t mess up during rehearsals as much.

It wasn’t that he hated learning choreography, it was just that Daniel had been going on and on about how important this performance was for getting their names out there in the entertainment world, and Liam didn’t want to mess up his second shot. It was a lot more pressure since this was his second time on the show, especially now that he was in a band. 

Quietly opening the stage door, Liam poked his head through to check if anyone was practicing. Thankfully, it was lunchtime so the crew had cleared out, and the normally busy stage was empty. Liam shook out his hands and squared his shoulders. Time to get to work.

After a couple of running through the steps, Liam was starting to give up. _Alright, one more time,_ he thought. Humming _Kids In America_ , he tapped his foot to the beat and moved through the dance. _Forward, one, two, three, four._ Stopping at the marked spot, Liam mouthed the words, then hesitated once he finished the refrain. _Which one was it? I swear I had it just now…_

He looked up as he heard footsteps, and a crew member burst through the doors, looking at papers in his hand as he walked across the stage. _Hey, wait, that’s who Harry told me about!_ Liam raised his hand to wave, but just before he could call out hello the lad seemed to slip, and fell backwards straight on his bum. 

“Mate! You alright?” Liam hurried over to him. 

“Yeah, I think so,” the lad answered him. “But watch out-”

Liam’s foot slipped out from under him, and he fell to the ground exactly like the other lad. Liam’s mouth opened at the shock, and the two boys stared at each other before they both started laughing hysterically.

“You just- I was saying- and then- ” 

Liam could barely understand what the other lad was saying since he kept laughing so much. But he wasn’t any better, still giggling and wiping away the tears in his eyes.

The other lad took a couple breaths, and offered a hand to Liam, still chuckling but somehow managed to get it under control. “I’m Niall,” he said.

“Liam.” They shook hands and grinned at each other. “Pretty funny way to meet, eh?”

Niall laughed again. “I’m usually a lot more careful near the stage, but I was too busy looking at the papers so that’s me own fault for slipping.” He shifted onto his knees and started gathering up the documents. 

“I think I’ve seen you around stage a bit,” said Liam. “You help Paul, don’t you? Harry pointed you out to me.”

Niall looked delighted at this. “Harry did? I’ll have to blow him a thank you kiss next time when he’s up on stage next,” he said. Finally having gathered all the papers into a stack, Niall sat back down on his bum. “Speaking of being on stage, what are you doing out here? It’s lunchtime, and I’m only here since Nicole asked me to check if she was missing any papers.”

Liam bit his lip. “Well, I was just working on my part of the choreography. I can’t remember when we go around the judges table, and I don’t want to get it wrong on live telly.”

“If you want, I’ve seen your dance a hundred times, I think I could help ya really fast! ...if you want?” Niall scratched his head and shrugged nonchalantly.

Liam blinked. “Wait, really?” He scrambled to his feet. “Let’s do it then!” the singer said, and offered a hand. Niall took it, putting his papers to the side, and Liam pulled him up. 

The boys walked over toward the center mark, a red x on the stage.

“Ok, so facing the audience, you’re second from the right, yeah?”

Liam nodded.

“Ok, then I’ll take Daniel’s spot.” Niall stepped up next to Liam and furrowed his brow. “You’re doing _Kids In America, right_?” 

Liam nodded. “Yeah, and I’ve got the lead solo, so I’ve just been humming that and working through the steps. It’s actually Daniel’s solo where I start to forget the steps.”

Niall rubbed his hands together in thought. “I can hum that part, so you can focus on the steps. Basically, you walk out to this spot, so we’ll start here just to make it easier. You finish up your solo, and then at the words…” Niall looked up before snapping his fingers “...at the words ‘friday night’ Daniel takes his solo and then you all start walking forward to that white x up front.” The blond lad pointed toward the mark about 3 meters downstage. “Then I think you lads move when I would start- er, sorry, when Daniel would start his second solo. So kind of think of it like red, white, blue, with the red and white marks and the blue judge’s table, and moving when a solo ends.”

“Hey, like the U.S.A. red white blue!” Liam grinned as he stored away that piece of advice.

“Exactly!” Niall beamed back at him. “Ready?”

Liam nodded, then started humming his lyrics. _Looking out a dirty old window…_ He knew this part pretty well since it was at the beginning of the choreography, plus it was just walking to a red x. Once his solo ended Niall took over by humming under his breath, and the two boys walked downstage to the white x. 

_Ok,_ Liam thought, _We’ve got red and white, and then blue is when Niall takes the second solo._ He listened to Niall, and when he recognized the chorus he also joined in on humming, both of them grinning at each other. Then Liam’s second solo came up, and he held up an imaginary mic to his mouth. _Bright lights, the music gets faster…_ as his solo came to an end, Liam remembered what Niall had told him. So when Niall started moving to walk around the empty judges table, Liam was following him right on cue. Niall turned back to him and also held up an imaginary mic, still humming the song, Liam laughed and started to dance to the song playing in his head. Niall joined in, and then it was just the two of them jumping around and running back to the center stage, where they finished by pumping their fists in the air. 

Liam laughed, and when Niall stuck out his hand for a high five he obliged. “That worked brilliant! Thanks for your help!”

Niall gave him a smile. “Of course! Now, let’s go eat!”

* * *

_Really, why are they making it so hard for me to work on some stuff by myself? It’s none of their business if I work best alone!_ Daniel stomped angrily into an empty room and slammed the door behind him. He flopped onto a couch, only to move over in annoyance as he pulled out papers from beneath him. 

“Can’t even put papers where they belong,” he muttered with a scowl on his face. But as he read the title of the paper his scowl disappeared, and a smirk grew in its place. 

What he had picked up was some new choreography that Paul had been making for one of the solo acts, but hadn’t named who it was for yet. 

_This is perfect, I can just sing one of my solo songs I’ve been working on and match it with the choreography_ , Daniel thought. He stood up and walked toward an open space in the room, moving through the choreography while singing one of the songs he had been working on in secret ever since One Direction had been eliminated. The only reason he was still with the band was because of the X-Factor Live Tour; he was the best singer out of all of the four, and Daniel hated having to continue to put his own career on hold just because he had to sing in a band with four mediocre guys. He was honestly surprised they got as far as they did. 

As he moved to belt out the bridge, Daniel inhaled, readying himself. Just at that moment, though, the door cracked open and a blond crew member poked their head in. “Hey, is that you Daniel?”

The boy in question jumped in surprise. This fucking _wanker_ almost caught him! He narrowed his eyes as he looked the kid up and down. The blond hair gave him away as that assistant Paul had around, and Daniel only recognized him because of how many times he had tried to talk to Paul alone when this tosser just ran up and stole his spot. “What do you want?” he snapped.

The assistant’s face twisted in confusion. “Uhh, just to let you know that B.J. had a question for you about one of your requests? I heard you singing something in here, so I just came in. Were you about to practice with the other lads? I can get them for you, if you want!”

“No, I’m good. You can go now.” Daniel looked back down at the papers and ran his finger down the page, looking to see if he could find where he was before he was interrupted.

“Oh, ok.” A click of the door let Daniel know he was alone.

Daniel dropped onto the couch and scowled. _Why the hell is he so needy about being with the band?_ The boy’s eyes widened in realization. _I bet he just wants to take my spot once I leave the band! How can he tell I want to leave?_ Daniel ran a hair through his hair. _Whatever, he looks like a horrible singer anyway. I’ll make sure he stays out of this band._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! That was a LONG chapter. I honestly had half of it finished yesterday but I wanted to leave off at a specific ending so I just kept writing! I'm hoping that the next chapter won't be as long, so I can get it up quicker. 
> 
> As always, let me know what you think, or if there's any suggestions you have!

**Author's Note:**

> Glad to see you again! Thanks for reading through it all :)
> 
> Another warning: updates are most definitely going to be sporadic! This is the first fic I actually have a storyline for, and one where I'm pretty motivated to finish, but how fast I'll update is going to depends on school and free time that I have, so... yeah!
> 
> I'm totally open to suggestions or edits, feel free to let me know if there's something out of shape
> 
> cheers! xoxo


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